Chapter 262
Seeing the notification, Zhou Qi let out a deep breath.
For the past two days, except for sleeping, he had been tirelessly trading to grind experience points. Finally, he had leveled up.
He sent Tang Yu’an a message, completed the last trade of the batch, then stood up and said, “Taking a break. We’ll continue later.”
Even after working around the clock, Zhou Qi had only managed to trade with a little over 4,000 members of the self-defense force. There were still 7,000 to 8,000 people left.
Since he occasionally paused to rest, some people tried to exploit the situation and trade more than once. However, Zhou Qi caught them every time, ensuring that those who hadn’t traded yet got their turn.
His fairness and impartiality not only earned people’s respect for his strength but also won him admiration.
Although some who hadn’t yet traded felt a bit dissatisfied when he announced his break, most understood and supported his decision.
They still didn’t understand why the mighty Dark Moon Boss insisted on personally handling every transaction, but since the three compressed biscuits were essentially free, who could really complain?
Zhou Qi then took Tang Sheng and flew back to the truck where the magical tent was set up.
As soon as they entered the vehicle, Tang Yu’an’s voice call invitation popped up.
Voice communication wasn’t free. Over the past two days, just their voice calls had cost over 10,000 points, so they couldn’t afford to keep the call open all the time.
Even so, just hearing each other’s voice was satisfying enough.
Zhou Qi quickly answered the call. At the same time, a new system notification appeared.
[Due to your outstanding performance, the Mysterious Merchant has granted you advanced authorization to establish a branch store. Keep up the great work and achieve even greater success!]
“Brother Qi, I’ve enabled the permission for you. Did you receive it?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Zhou Qi and Tang Sheng returned to the tent and found Tang Xueyun, who was tutoring her daughter.
“We can open a branch now? That’s great!”
Over the past two days, Tang Xueyun had already picked out a house and completed the handover with Mo Chengfei.
She immediately led Zhou Qi to the property.
The house was centrally located in the base—a three-story self-built home with a small courtyard.
Interestingly, the owner of the house was still alive and currently serving in the self-defense force.
When he heard that Tang Xueyun was looking for a house, he immediately approached Mo Chengfei, offering to give it to her.
His only request was that she adopt his grandson.
Due to limited space in the base, his house had long been shared by other self-defense force members. The same was true for other houses.
Mo Chengfei didn’t believe the houses in the base were privately owned, so technically, this Old Mr. Lin had no right to transfer the property.
However, Tang Xueyun was satisfied with the house and didn’t dislike the old man, so she discussed it with Zhou Qi. In the end, they decided to accept the house and take in the grandfather and grandson.
Based on Zhou Qi’s experience with Desolate City Haven and the base’s growing population, they would need more manpower in the future. It was wise to start scouting suitable people now.
The self-defense members who had been staying at the Lin residence had already been relocated, leaving only Old Mr. Lin and his grandson in the house.
Tang Xueyun led Zhou Qi inside.
Standing in the first-floor living room, Zhou Qi opened the system panel and began establishing the branch store.
Meanwhile, Tang Yu’an received a notification:
[Employee “Zhou Qi” is establishing a branch store. Do you choose to:]
[Accept] [Reject]
Of course, he chose accept!
Immediately, Zhou Qi was deducted 10,000 points—several times more than if Tang Yu’an had established the branch himself.
Fortunately, all the compressed biscuits used for trading were supplied by Tang Yu’an through his personal warehouse, so they had enough points to cover the cost.
[‘Peace Grocery Store Branch #13’ successfully established!]
[You are now the branch manager of ‘Peace Grocery Store Branch #13’]
With Zhou Qi now managing two branches, his store interface gained a new #13 branch tab.
Next, he needed to activate the Protective Barrier. However…
[This feature requires an employee level of Lv21]
Zhou Qi froze.
“Brother Qi, how’s it going?” Tang Yu’an’s voice came through.
Zhou Qi pressed his lips together before explaining the situation.
Tang Yu’an was momentarily stunned. He quickly opened his own store panel and discovered that both the Protective Barrier and Teleportation Array could only be activated from within the store.
Since previous branch openings had immediately unlocked these features, he had never noticed the level restriction before.
A bad feeling crept up on him. If the Protective Barrier has a restriction… what about the Teleportation Array?
Zhou Qi clicked on the Teleportation Array button. A moment later, he sighed.
“Yep. It requires employee level Lv25.”
The employee level system had never seemed very important. As long as he could use the remote warehouse function, he hadn’t paid much attention to it.
But now, he was stuck.
Tang Yu’an took a sharp breath. He himself was only Lv25! For Zhou Qi to reach that level, he needed…
After a quick calculation, Tang Yu’an inhaled deeply and muttered, “He needs 220,500 EXP.”
Given Zhou Qi’s current grind rate of 12,000 EXP every three days, that meant…
“At least 56 days.” Zhou Qi answered grimly.
And that was only if he continued his near-sleepless grind while also accelerating the growth of Star-chain Fruits.
Of course, now that he could hire employees, he might be able to speed things up.
But this method of grinding wasn’t exactly healthy for the base’s long-term development.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Tang Yu’an tried to lighten the mood. “It’s okay! We still need a Positioning Stone to activate the Teleportation Array anyway, and we don’t have one yet.”
“Let’s take it step by step. First, get to Lv21 and unlock the Protective Barrier.”
Zhou Qi sighed internally. That was their only option.
“Lv21 requires 25,200 EXP. I’ll probably have to stay another week before I can return.”
At that thought, he clenched his fists.
An’an’s birthday was coming up. He had planned to be there for it…
“Mm, it’s okay!” Tang Yu’an reassured him. “You can hire my parents as employees now. With their help, you won’t have to work so hard!”
That reminded Zhou Qi of a concern.
“If Aunt Tang becomes an employee, can she still use the Dream Drift Bottle?”
Tang Yu’an paused.
Right.
After recruiting Xie Chaori as an employee, his Dream Drift Bottle shattered, and he could no longer use it as a “Dream Wisher.”
If his mom became an employee, would she lose access to the bottle too?
He thought for a moment before saying, “Well, with the personal warehouse, the bottle isn’t really necessary anymore, right?”
Zhou Qi’s lips pressed into a thin line.
“If Aunt Tang loses the bottle… I won’t be able to return.”
There was a faint hint of disappointment in his voice.
Tang Yu’an felt an inexplicable ache in his chest.
After a brief silence, he chuckled. “Brother Qi… do you miss me?”
“Mm.”
Zhou Qi admitted it without hesitation.
Tang Yu’an’s face grew warm—though he wasn’t sure why.
Isn’t it perfectly normal for Brother Qi to miss him?
“It’s fine, Xin Xin is still here.” Tang Yuan said, “The new bottle was sent back half a month ago, so it should arrive in the next few days.”
Besides Tang Sheng and his wife, Tang Yuxin was the closest person to him by blood in this world, so she would also receive his bottle.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qi would have to stay in his original world for at least another seven or eight days, so there was no time issue.
Zhou Qi thought about it for a moment and realized that was indeed the case.
“Although this means Xin Xin won’t be able to attend compulsory education courses, there’s no other choice. She should be able to understand.”
In Zhou Qi’s mind, he recalled the little girl’s secretly delighted expression when Tang Xueyun left with him just now.
Hmm, not only would Xin Xin understand, but she would probably be quite happy about it.
“Alright, then I’ll hire Uncle Tang and Aunt Tang.”
Zhou Qi looked at Tang Sheng and his wife and sent them recruitment notifications. On the other side, Tang Yu’an also received a reminder.
He immediately clicked “agree.”
Seeing his parents’ names appear on the personnel panel, he couldn’t stop his eyes from welling up.
“Brother Qi, thank you…”
As long as his parents reached level Lv5, he would be able to communicate with them in standard Mandarin.
“No need to say thanks between us.”
Then, Zhou Qi left Store No. 13 with Tang Sheng and his wife to continue distributing compressed biscuits and farming experience points.
As for Store No. 13, there was no need to worry for now because…
Even without a protective barrier, the “Evil Guests Repelled” aura was always active, preventing those with ill intentions from entering.
Seeing them return, the people waiting in front of the stall were overjoyed and quickly gathered around.
With Tang Sheng and his wife joining, the transaction speed increased significantly. Since Zhou Qi was the branch manager, he earned 1 experience point from every profitable transaction.
*
Plane MR176349, Desolate City Haven
Tang Yuan sniffled, thinking about how Zhou Qi wouldn’t be back for at least another week. He couldn’t help but feel a little down.
He walked over to the window and stared blankly at the scenery outside.
Over the past twenty days since Zhou Qi left, the temperature in the Desolate City region had dropped sharply, turning the landscape into a snowy white world.
However, about ten meters outside the homestead’s walls, the snow abruptly disappeared, replaced by lush greenery bursting with life.
Thanks to the Blue Hu Tree, the temperature inside the settlement remained around 20°C.
Aside from the slower growth of crops due to insufficient sunlight on cloudy days, there were no major issues.
This stable temperature was even more comfortable than before the cold disaster.
Of course, since the Blue Hu Tree’s growth was mainly within the settlement, the road between Desolate City and Jufeng Mountain, despite being protected by a barrier, was still affected by the cold.
Fortunately, once temperatures dropped below freezing, the barrier’s ability to resist destructive natural disasters kicked in.
The temperature on the newly built road remained slightly above freezing, just enough to prevent ice from forming.
Even so, compared to the subzero temperatures outside, this was already quite comfortable. Almost every resident of Jufeng Mountain and Desolate City now had at least one Peace Coin.
Placing a Peace Coin on their chest provided a continuous source of warmth—at the very least, it ensured they wouldn’t freeze to death.
Nearly a month had passed, and the construction team from Jufeng Mountain had extended the fence from the foot of the mountain to the top, covering not just key strongholds along the way but enclosing the entire Jufeng Town.
From a certain perspective, all major human activity areas on Jufeng Mountain had already become part of the Desolate City Haven.
Under the protection of the barrier, the residents of Jufeng Mountain were finally safe from the cold disaster. This year, the number of deaths would likely be very low—perhaps even none at all.
Meanwhile, the Desolate City Haven construction team had extended the road from the foot of Jufeng Mountain all the way to Linhai Town.
Since Linhai Town had already fallen under the influence of the Commerce God Sect, the construction team had initially worried about sparking a conflict.
Although there were some minor issues at the start, Hai Jing stepped in to mediate.
Under Hai Jing’s “rule,” the residents of Lin Hai Town gained a significant degree of freedom.
However, having been oppressed for so long, when they were suddenly told they were free, many felt lost and unsure of what to do.
So, Hai Jing organized them to dig salt ponds by the sea. The salt ponds they excavated belonged to them individually, but the salt had to be sold to the Lin Hai Grocery Store.
This was technically a monopoly, but compared to Li Zhentian’s oppressive slavery, it actually provided the residents with a livelihood.
After all, they didn’t know any salt merchants. If no one bought their salt, drying it would be pointless.
Hai Jing’s popularity in Lin Hai Town skyrocketed, and he brought in an incredible amount of points for Tang Yu’an.
In the twenty-plus days since Zhou Qi left, Hai Jing and his daughter alone had earned Tang Yu’an a staggering 5 million points.
Yes, 5 million points!
However, since Hai Jing and his daughter were stretched too thin, most transactions had to be handled by “faithful representatives,” who completed the final points collection.
Otherwise, Tang Yu’an would have gained even more experience.
And this was just the beginning. As time passed and Lin Hai Town’s full potential was tapped, it would likely become a terrifying points-generating machine.
After the road between Lin Hai Town and Desolate City Haven was completed, Tang Yuan traveled there via the bus and met with Hai Jing under the alias “Eastern Sweet Tang”
Haijing didn’t recognize his disguised identity.
Since he had received a mission to establish friendly relations with Desolate City Haven—and because of their prior interactions on the employee forum—Hai Jing was very friendly and respectful to Tang Yu’an, never looking down on him because of his age.
Tang Yu’an then added all Lin Hai Town residents to the Desolate City Haven’s overnight stay list—a total of 46,805 people.
This was one of the reasons why Lin Hai Town had contributed 5 million points in less than a month.
Adding the previous 5,000 residents, Desolate City Haven’s overnight stay list had grown to 52,405 people.
If the settlement hadn’t been upgraded to accommodate 110,000 overnight guests, the road construction would have stopped before reaching Lin Hai Town.
But now that they were on the list, Lin Hai Town had to be fully incorporated into the settlement’s territory.
After a brief rest, the construction team split into two groups again.
One team continued building the road toward Lan Hu Town, while the other returned to Lin Hai Town.
They recruited more workers from Jufeng Mountain—many with prior construction experience—and expanded the team before resuming roadwork.
Tang Yu’an’s goal for this team was to extend the road to every fishing village in Lin Hai Town.
The work was grueling, and the task daunting, but no one in the construction team complained.
Work meant wages, which meant delicious boxed meals. It was tiring, but the job was virtually risk-free. Compared to their past days of living in constant danger, this was paradise.
Looking at the fishermen in Lin Hai Town—thin and malnourished despite living by the sea—the construction workers felt overwhelmingly fortunate and worked even harder.
At the same time, Tang Yu’an assigned Hai Jing a mission to organize manpower to build a new wall around Lin Hai Town, connecting it with Desolate City Haven’s road fences.
Hai Jing had already learned some “secrets” about the protective barrier from the administrator channel—through a private deal with Old Li.
Understanding its significance, he was highly motivated to complete the task.
The cold front hit Lin Hai Town later than Desolate City, but its effects were becoming evident. They had to enclose the entire town quickly to gain protection from the barrier.
Since Lin Hai Town already had walls and plenty of earth-element ability users, the construction wouldn’t take long.
Once completed, Lin Hai Town would officially become part of Desolate City Haven.
Standing by the window, Tang Yu’an thought for a while, then pulled himself together and started his lessons.
Studying helped pass the time when he felt lonely.
But he hadn’t been studying for long before he suddenly stopped, because—
[“Pillow Superman” has requested to add you as a friend.]
[“Mighty Woman” has requested to add you as a friend.]
Tang Yuan clicked “Accept” on the friend requests and quickly sent them a voice invitation. His father was the first to answer.
And the first thing he said was—
“Son, can you change Dad’s title?”
Tang Yuan blinked and whispered, “But titles have a 90-day cooldown…”
Did Dad not like the title?
